Daily life in Zongman

I've become accustomed to it. Sister Shendong, who stays at home, basically never goes out except to stock up on Mondays. When she goes to stock up, she just takes a sticky note and quickly buys everything before going home.

But even though I already knew she would answer like this, I still asked. After all, it would be nice if I could take a walk outside with Sister Shendong.

"By the way, Sister Shendong, the rehearsal for the Red and White Song Contest is from 7:30 to 12:00. I will be staying in Tokyo tomorrow night and will be back the day after tomorrow, Sunday."

"Eh?!" Yukino Shindong made a confused and panicked sound.

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I drink milk before going to bed. I feel that the brand of milk I changed recently is really delicious, but I have forgotten to ask Sister Shendong what brand it is.

Forget it, it’s just a bottle of milk, no need to delve into its source.

He smacked his lips, licked back the milk that had leaked out, and remembered something.

I can go check out the source of my own magatama tomorrow. I didn't go check it out during the school trip because I had to follow the group. Last time, my PA and I went straight to the Ninja Hall and then went home without asking about the source of the magatama. This time, I have plenty of time, so I can go check it out.

I then remembered the last time I went to the Budokan with sister PA to watch the Tea Party TEA performance, and sent a text message to sister PA on my mobile phone.

"I've been given the opportunity to watch the rehearsal of the Red and White Songs Contest. PA-san, do you want to come with me? Tomorrow night from 7 to 12 o'clock."

Inside the STARRY store, the PA who was packing up to go off work saw the text message and hesitated for a moment, then looked at the store manager, Ichichi Seika.

Tomorrow is Saturday, the busiest time at night for the store, but this is the day to go to the Red and White Song Festival rehearsal. It’s an opportunity not to be missed to get up close and personal with all of this year’s popular singers, idols, and artists!

Finally, with the permission of the shop manager who was known for his "arrogant, arrogant, arrogant, and a little bit of coquettishness," the office worker PA-san replied to the text message: "See you tomorrow, little Fujiwara!"

The two met on the street after noon the next day, and PA-san drove them to Tokyo.

"Thank you, Fujiwara-chan~ If it weren't for you, I might never have had the chance to go to the Red and White Song Contest in my lifetime. Every year, the probability of being selected as a live audience member is only 0.1, which is really low."

"This is just a rehearsal, not a real live performance."

"That's great! I'm already looking forward to what wonderful performances there will be tonight. Oh~ How can I thank Fujiwara-chan~"

"Then please be my driver for a day and take me to an extra place."

"This is what we agreed to last night, right? Fujiwara-chan, you can make one extra request~" PA-san spoke again with a hint of temptation.

Fujiwara Haru, who already knew that getting along with others required making them feel less burdened, thought for a moment and said, "Then PA-san will take full responsibility for the expenses of this trip to the Red and White Song Festival. I won't pay a penny."

PA-san was silent for a while. She had thought she could tease the boy, but she found that the boy did not have any strange ideas.

With a faint smile, he praised: "Okay, okay~ Little Fujiwara is so cute~"

"Thank you for the compliment." Although being called cute isn't as good as being handsome, it's still a compliment and it makes me feel good.

Afterwards, he asked his PA to take him to the source of the magatama. Through the information of the package he had sent earlier, Fujiwara Haru found the destination. With further inquiries and confirmation, he confirmed that the magatama package was sent from the Miyamizu family.

I met Grandma Miyamizu. After entering the house, she poured a cup of tea and handed it to me.

After explaining his purpose, Fujiwara Haru knew that the magatama was a valuable treasure, but he had no idea why it was sent to him. Although the address and the word "Fujiwara" on the package roughly confirmed that it was sent to him, he still wanted to confirm it. If it was sent to the wrong person, he would return it.

Ill-gotten gains should not be taken.

Miyamizu Ichiha took a sip of tea. She looked at the boy sitting in front of her and nodded her forehead: "I wasn't sure before, but now I am."

"It's sent to you, so take it with peace of mind."

Fujiwara Haru was still a little confused: "Grandma Miyamizu, why do you say that? We haven't met before, right?"

"Don't be impatient, just listen to me slowly." Miyamizu Ichiha held the teacup in his hand and chattered slowly.

"I used to live in Itomori Town. I was the chief priest of Miyamizu Shrine in Itomori Town, responsible for offering sacrifices and protecting..."

Grandma Miyamizu didn't talk fast, and sometimes she'd tell me some anecdote from the past. I waited patiently and quietly until she finished, then I got a general idea of what was going on.

The magatama is a treasure enshrined at Miyamizu Shrine. Due to a fire two hundred years ago, all the shrine's books were destroyed. The reason for enshrining the magatama and the reason for the shrine's rituals are unknown; only the formality remains.

Then four years ago, Itomori Town was hit by a meteorite and completely destroyed.

Miraculously, the residents of Itomori Town all survived. They claimed they were conducting a town-wide disaster drill at the time, but Miyamizu said they had no recollection of gathering on the high school grounds, outside the meteorite's path.

No one remembers the reason, and the claims to the outside world are false.

When she woke up in the playground that day, she saw the meteorite crater in the distance, a packed package in her arms, an address, and half a name.

Later, she learned some things through news reports and by asking her granddaughter to do some research and confirmation.

Lake Itomori in Itomori Town is a meteorite lake, formed when a meteorite struck the Earth 1200 years ago. On a nearby mountain, the shrine is also a cenote carved by a meteorite, a crater from even earlier times.

Four years ago, 1200 years after Lake Itomori was formed, a comet arrived again and a meteorite fell again.

Itomori Town disappeared, and Miyamizu Shrine also disappeared, but the residents of Itomori Town survived.

Perhaps the duty of Miyamizu Shrine was to guide nearby residents to avoid the meteorite strikes that occurred every 1200 years. However, with the ancient books destroyed, they probably couldn't do that.

But that night, they all miraculously survived.

"Fujiwara, do you still remember whether you had any connection with Itomori-cho?"

Fujiwara Haru hesitated as he recalled, "I've been to the area near Itomori-cho once, but I'm not sure if that counts as a connection."

Miyamizu Ichiha took a sip of tea and said, "That's right, it was you who saved Itomori Town in your dream, and this magatama is my gift to you in return."

"It must be the meteorite that formed Lake Itomori 1200 years ago. After thousands of years of worship and sacrifice, it transformed into a magatama."

"Fujiwara, just accept it. This is what you deserve."

Fujiwara Haru left the Miyamizu household and looked at the magatama he had brought with him. Its light reflected in the sunlight, and its purpose was still unclear, but it was likely a treasure that would be beneficial for spiritual practice.

Thank you, Grandma Miyamizu.

He hung the magatama back on his waist.

After returning to the car, the PA sister looked over and asked, "Is it taken care of?"

Nodding: "It's taken care of."

"Then let's go have dinner first. Finish early and go directly to the scene to wait."

The matter was settled and I felt relaxed. PA sister said she would treat us to a big meal and we could order whatever we wanted.

He looked at the restaurant she arrived at, which was magnificent. He took a look at the menu and saw that an egg cost over a thousand yen, so he pulled her away.

What kind of family dares to bring him to such a place? In the end, he taught his PA sister a lesson in the buffet restaurant, what a big eater is.

After leaving the buffet restaurant with great satisfaction, the PA sister sighed: "This is the most worthwhile experience I've ever had at a buffet restaurant. I didn't expect little Fujiwara to have such a big appetite."

Fujiwara Haru felt okay, but in fact, after three or four hours, he would be hungry again and would need to have another midnight snack.

A 14-year-old's body has only been developing for one year and is still in a period of explosive growth. It needs a lot of nutrition for further development.

Incidentally, Fujiwara Haru recently measured his height at 168cm, having grown 8cm in the year since his arrival in the apocalyptic world. He felt okay about it, not as extreme as the 10cm per year limit he'd searched for, but still not bad. His muscles had also grown considerably, showing not just a simple increase in height, but comprehensive growth.

Just a bit of glass, easily surpassed! Height, just like a cloud!

I happily went to the rehearsal with my PA sister. Lucy, the mountain god, arranged for me to sit in a corner and watch. Just keep quiet and don't disturb others. As for the rest, there are some confidentiality regulations mentioned earlier, so there's nothing else to pay attention to.

The stage is still being cleaned up at the rehearsal site, and the staff are doing the final finishing work.

PA-san was a little bored and looked over with his cheek propped up: "Fujiwara-chan hasn't been to STARRY recently."

Looking over, he chatted, "I'm from the Home Department. I go home after school and rarely go out to play."

"Oh~ This isn't good. Fujiwara-chan, you should participate in more club activities. Otherwise, your beautiful youth will be wasted at home like this. It will be very sad when you look back on it in the future."

"It's okay. I think playing games and doing handicrafts at home is pretty good."

"Hmm..." PA-san thought for a moment. "I can't argue with that. I think playing games is pretty fun, too."

"Does PA sister also play games?"

"After getting home from get off work, I occasionally play for a while. After all, I need to relax. I can't think about work all day long."

"I'm a little curious about what games PA sister will play."

"Ah~ Ah~ Little Fujiwara is very curious~" PA-san started to tease: "You can guess~ If you guess correctly, I will give you a reward~"

Her tone became somewhat ambiguous, but Fujiwara Haru didn't notice.

He didn't care much about the reward. After all, it was just a casual chat, so he casually replied: "Connect the dots and match-3 games?"

"Stereotypes are not good. The games my sister plays are more interesting, more enjoyable, and more mature." PA-san's tone was slightly gentle, creating a crimson atmosphere.

Fujiwara Harunori just thought, since he couldn't stick to stereotypes, he might as well guess the impossible: "FPS game?"

"Oh..." The PA-san paused. "Fujiwara-chan guessed the range correctly, but that doesn't count as a guess. You need to be more accurate to get the reward."

She opened her mouth slightly and licked her lips with the tip of her tongue: "What my sister is playing~ is not an ordinary FPS game~"

I noticed the tongue, but I first thought about the most popular FPS game recently. It had to be something special, probably the one given by God.

Continue to guess: "Overwatch?"

PA-san was silent for a while. She thought that she should be quite pretty, and what she said just now was quite ambiguous, but why did it feel like...they were just having a normal chat.

Taking it a step further, PA-san sighed softly, "You guessed it right~ Then let me think carefully~ What reward should I give to little Fujiwara~"

PA-san waited for a moment, licking her lips with the tip of her forked tongue, and said, "Then the reward is~ Fujiwara-chan, you can ask a question, no matter what it is, and I will answer you~ including asking~ private questions~"

I noticed her tongue again, and being curious, I used it right there and then: "PA sister, can I ask why your tongue is separated?"

"Hmm~ You can answer this question, but it will use up the reward you just received~ Are you sure you want to ask? Fujiwara-chan, you can ask some~ more secret questions~"

"I'm curious, please tell me why your tongue is forked, PA sister."

PA-san looked at the boy in front of him. His expression was full of curiosity, without any embarrassment or shyness.

It’s really... pure white.

The failure of the prank did not discourage her, but made her even more excited.

She could have been flirting with him, but in the end, she realized she hadn't succeeded. Meanwhile, she herself was moved by the pure white boy.

If I was just joking at the beginning, now I am serious about it.

PA-san's favorable impression of him increased.

She didn't directly answer the question, but instead started sharing some of her past experiences. She rarely mentioned her past to others, not only because it affected her mysterious aura, but more importantly, she was really too immature and stupid in the past.

And now, she is willing to say more to the young man she has a good impression of.

"My sister was a freshman in high school. Because she couldn't get up in the morning, she lost a lot of credits and decided to drop out."

"I was young and socially inexperienced back then, so no one wanted me to work. I was constantly being scolded for staying at home, and feeling down. Then I saw a rock band performing on the side of the road. They seemed so cool and free."

"So I got into rock music and started getting earrings and lip studs. I thought they were so cool at the time, so I bought them and put them on myself. Now that I think about it, it was so stupid. Little Fujiwara was a good kid, she couldn't imitate her big sister, okay?"

Nod.

The PA continued, "Because I did it myself, the wound was larger and the healing process was slower. It was incredibly painful and uncomfortable at the time, but luckily, it didn't get infected or inflamed. But then the stud started to slip, widening the gap in my tongue even further."

“So it became like this~”

As she spoke, she stuck out her tongue. The flexible tip of her tongue was like a snake's tongue, gently sticking out, stretching, winding, overlapping in opposite directions, and the tips of her tongue facing each other to form a hollow circle.

The host appeared on the stage and the Red and White Songs Contest began.

PA-san turned around and stopped looking at Fujiwara Haru, but her face was a little red.

She was not used to showing her tongue to others. To be more precise, this was the first time she showed her tongue to others in its entirety.

She is a little shy and doesn't look like a mature lady at all as she looks. In fact, PA-san is only 21 years old this year.

There was another experience she hadn't mentioned earlier: after changing her image, she tried to join a band, but discovered she had no musical talent. She ended up working as a sound engineer, where she could gain experience and become stronger. Since she was still a band member, her rock-and-roll look persisted.

She is very satisfied with her current job, not only because she only has to work at night and can sleep in the morning, but more importantly, she can watch new bands gradually shine.

That was her lost youth, and just looking at it made her feel beautiful.

This motivates her to constantly work hard to learn the skills and knowledge related to sound engineers, become more professional, and strive to grow.

The lights on the stage went out, the host walked aside, and the curtain closed and opened, and the performance began.

The first to go on stage were the members of the White Team, a team of male idols. Fujiwara Haru didn't pay much attention and was not very interested.

But their songs are really good and their dancing is pretty good too.

Afterwards, different bands, different idols, and different singers and artists took turns to perform on stage.

It's a feast for the eyes and ears, what a great experience.

One group of idols had an amazing opening and sang beautifully. As the lights focused, a total of nine people gathered together, each of them stretched out one hand and put them together.